GI Joe #6 – Review

By: Fred Van Lente (writer), Jamal Igle (pencils), Juan Castro (inks), Joana LaFuente (colors) and Neil Uyetake (letters)

The Story: Cover Girl’s past is revealed as she learns more about her kinda-boyfriend, Duke.

Review (with little SPOILERS): Wow….what a difference competent art makes!  The art has been very unsteady since the main GI Joe title renumbered a few months ago with Fred Van Lente as the writer.  It’s hard to really appreciate “the story” when you’re noticing funny looking panels and weirdly distorted faces.  But, replace the former art team with someone like Jamal Igle and you get the best issue of the series so far.  IDW really needs to decide on a direction for these Joe titles artistically because the books will never be more than mediocre until their hire seriously skilled artists (like Igle).

What’s great is that there isn’t anything flashy about Igle’s art.  He’s just pumping along and illustrating the story so that people can understand what is going on.  Perhaps more importantly, he isn’t making any glaring mistakes that pull us out of the story.  I sometimes think that being an artist is more about the mistakes you avoid than the spectacular pages you generate…and since the spectacular pages you generate depend on external factors (like the flow of the story, what characters are involved, etc.) it is much easier to just avoid the mistakes.  It’s kinda like being a goalkeeper in soccer: You have full control over avoiding the moronic mistakes, but you depend on other circumstances to be in position to make the spectacular saves.

Smallville #6 – Review

By: Bryan Q. Miller (story), Jamal Igle (pencils), Marc Deering (inks), Carrie Strachan (colors)

The Story: Batman discovers it’s a little harder to flip-drop Superman than other folks.

The Review: Last month, I went through a strange, almost revelatory moment with the title, where I realized that no matter how much I or Miller or anybody else wanted it to replace the show we watched semi-diligently, it never would.  Comics, particularly ones involving superheroes, are all about indulgences, taking fictional liberties and playing up the action.  For a drama and talk-centered series like Smallville, comics don’t always translate its appeal.

Remember how often and how much of the show used to involve two-character scenes, with long, windy streams of dialogue (and lots of talking while turning away from the other person).  Fighting sequences were limited by budget constraints, but that made the personal storylines more integral to the show.  Miller has almost reversed the action-drama ratios here, and that produces an “episode” that doesn’t much resemble those of its televised predecessor.

The Ray #2 – Review

By: Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray (writers), Jamal Igle (penciller), Rich Perrotta (inker), Guy Major (colorist)

The Story: Guess who’s coming to dinner?  The Ray!

The Review: I was thoroughly unimpressed with the debut of this mini last month, and was of a good mind to drop it immediately.  But I figured that since I already put the money in for one issue, I might as well check out the next one to see if things improve.  After all, it wasn’t so much that the writing or art of #1 was bad; they just felt commonplace and contrived, much more planned than inspired.

It’s not great that for the second time in a row, we open on a monster attack upon San Diego, with the Ray filling you in with some narrated exposition as he takes them down.  That’s par for the course, considering the six-issue constraint Palmiotti-Gray have on their story, but it still would’ve been nice to see more of the action taking place than having it told to us.  Besides, Ray always manages to defeat them so quickly, and with so little evident threat to his person, that you tend to skim past the scenes anyway.

At any rate, the meat of the story involves Lucien’s first meeting with Chanti’s culturally sensitive parents, whom he tries to please by getting into Indian costume and sucking up, big time.  At least he has the good grace to admit he was being an idiot (the title of the scene is actually “Yes…  I Am an Idiot”), because it is a monumentally idiotic move, one that would never, ever fly in real life for a second.  The idea reeks like a premise for a first/last-season episode of a WB sitcom starring Mindy Kaling and John Cho—which, sadly, I’d probably watch.

The Ray #1 – Review

By: Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray (writers), Jamal Igle (penciller), Rich Perrotta (inker), Guy Major (colorist)

The Story: Prepare to be blinded by the Ray—in more ways than one.

The Review: Here’s another beauty about the new 52: the opportunity to launch new characters or to revive old ones for a new generation.  So of all the myriad heroes of the DC canon to return to the forefront, why the Ray?  Nowhere in his history, from his origins in Quality Comics’ Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters to his brief stint as a member of Young Justice, did he ever have what you might call popular appeal.

And I’m not sure if this new version of the Ray will turn that trend around.  Truthfully, I’m not a fan of publishers artificially promoting diversity by having minority characters take up legacy brands, like Jackson Hyde and Aqualad, Jaime Reyes and Blue Beetle, Ryan Choi and the Atom, and now Lucien Gates, a Korean-American and newest incarnation of the radiant hero.

It’s also not great that Palmiotti-Gray have chosen a new person for the mantle when Ray Terrill, the previous Ray, hasn’t officially been wiped from active status, which the writers should know since they wrote his last appearance in last year’s short-lived Freedom Fighters ongoing.  As the only version of the hero who came closest to having a following (even getting a solo series back in the mid-nineties), you’d think it’d be smarter to use what was working rather than start anew.

But let’s set all that aside and take Lucien on his own merits, shall we?  As far as secret origins go, his come in one of the more traditional ways: a freak accident, in the truest sense of the word.  Sure, it doesn’t make sense how a misfired beam from the U.S. military’s experimental “sun gun” would randomly bestow powers on any organic thing it strikes.  Then again, if you can accept that a lightning bolt and a chemical cocktail can make a man super-fast, maybe you should just this “sun gun” thing go.

Superman #714 – Review

By: J. Michael Straczynski & Chris Roberson (writers), Jamal Igle (penciller), Jon Sibal & Robin Riggs (inkers), Marcelo Maiolo (colorist)

The Story: Stop eating those French fries, Superman, have some self-respect!  Don’t you know you can fly?!

The Review: Superman has been around for so long, has been written by so many different kinds of writers, and has gone through so many permutations that it gets a bit harder every year just to give him a story that avoids the formulaic, let alone one that brings something new to the table.  And while “Grounded” as a premise made an admirable attempt to try break away from familiar plotlines, it long ago lost its novelty and is now knee-deep in clichés.

It doesn’t get any more so than Lois Lane in a threatening situation and Superman coming to her rescue.  To start off an issue with this kind of thing already tells us not to expect much in the way of mind-blowing material.  And even though you have zero doubt Supes will get Lois out of this safe and sound, it’s amusing to see him accomplish the task within the first three pages.  Not surprising, though; we all know Lois is just a tool to get Superman into action, nothing more.

That said, the action we get hardly counts as the big blowout you’d expect at the end of such a long, hyped story arc.  Part of the problem lies with our villain—I’m sure she mentions her name somewhere, but I don’t care enough to really remember or look it up—who nurses, predictably enough, a misdirected, personal vendetta against our hero, and has no qualms about stating it with ridiculous explicitness: “I want you to suffer, Superman!  Like you’ve made me suffer!”

I can only imagine Roberson’s fatigue with this storyline (it does feel like it’s gone on forever, doesn’t it?) has caused him to throw the dialogue to the wind, as it all falls into embarrassingly corny territory: “I am your shadow.  I am all of the doubts and fears you’ve been afraid to face!”  Superman’s response?  “What you are is annoying!”  Terrific rejoinder, big guy.  Your time on New Krypton clearly deprived you of practice in the art of American repartee.

Zatanna #15 – Review

By: Derek Fridolfs (writer), Jamal Igle (penciller), John Dell (inker), John Kalisz (colorist)

The Story: I saw Zatanna Zatara speaking with the devil!  She’s a witch!  Someone get a swan!

The Review: Those Subway “features” in half of DC’s comics sure are annoying, aren’t they?  I know nothing about their quality; I haven’t even bothered to read them.  But by chance my eye caught the credit list on one of them and I saw the name “Derek Fridolfs” pop out, which I recognized as the same name that wrote this issue of Zatanna.  Call me a pessimist, but I’m just not sure I can place confidence in a writer who can put to paper, “Looks like we aren’t the only ones with a craving for Subway® sandwiches today.”

As it turns out, Fridolfs is pretty capable for someone who writes Jared Fogle (Subway Guy) into a comic—without irony.  He gives us an effective opener which puts Zee immediately in mortal danger, but which also demonstrates the formulaic quality of her character.  Because the nature of her mnemonic incantations has never been seriously explored, her voice always has to get cut off in some way to threaten her, a hump it seems no writer has figured out how to get over yet.

Still, Fridolfs’ strategy sure beats the bondage undertones we usually get, and even after that brutal first attack, he never lets her catch a break, keeping her constantly on the run from her pursuers, always on the edge of disaster.  Once you take away her magic chops, she essentially becomes—and I’m using Wiki terms here—a woman with the fitness of a person who engages in moderate exercise, with knowledge in advanced hand-to-hand combat and sleight of hand.

All good opportunity to show Zatanna is League material not because she’s their convenient resident magician, but because she has guts, plain and simple.  In an earlier issue we learn she had taken karate lessons, which proves very effective indeed (though I imagine her association with Batman and Wonder Woman helped some, especially in the effective use of a chain and sword as projectiles).  Her finest moment has to be grabbing a curtain rope for a swashbuckling lift into the risers, where she scatters the doves from the footlights.

Superman #713 – Review

By: J. Michael Straczynski & Chris Roberson (writers), Diogenes Neves, Oclair Albert, Eddy Barrows, JP Mayer, Jamal Igle, Jon Sibal (artists), Marcelo Maiolo (colorist)

The Story: This is a job for Superman!  What?  He’s not there?  Leave a voicemail, I guess….

The Review: No matter how much you get into a superhero comic, at some point you’ll notice the faint tingle of suspended belief tingling at your amygdala (or whatever part of your brain matters of faith are located in—obviously I should never be anyone’s doctor or shrink).  But keep it at bay you must, otherwise all sorts of uncomfortable questions about the logic and realism of what you’re reading will cow your simple pleasure into submission.

But when the writer himself chooses to address those questions, there’s really nothing you can do about it, is there?  Fortunately, Roberson brings up several valid, thought-provoking issues that neatly ponder the implications of having a super-powered alien in our midst:  the fear of his overwhelming might; whether he can be trusted to use his powers appropriately; the possible resentment from the mere mortals.

The subject matter works; the format which Roberson chooses to address these things does not.  Characters telling stories within stories can be tricky to begin with, but in a comic, a bunch of brief, exemplary anecdotes just produces facts and details with little to no movement or substance whatsoever.  Having Clark and his “guide” asking random passerby their opinions on Superman certainly adds no dramatic depth, and it just seems inherently forced.

Zatanna #14 – Review

By: Adam Beechen (writer), Jamal Igle & Travis Moore (pencillers), Jon Sibal & John Dell (inkers), Richard and Tanya Horie (colorists)

The Story: You wanna dance?  No?  You’re a witch and you’re going to curse my junk?  Okay.  Cool.  Right!

The Review: Zachary Zatara is one of those DC characters who never fails to touch upon me a sense of bewilderment.  Even though Zatanna has a fairly popular following, she doesn’t quite seem iconic enough to merit a spin-off character, especially one as poorly conceived as Zachary.  He’s essentially a douchey, younger version of Zee with a less impressive range of power and who does the stage thing without fishnets—making him infinitely less interesting, in my mind.

You’d think the Zatara family would spawn at least one magical adept who has no interest in show business, but that’s nepotism for you.  Had Beechen taken this issue as an opportunity to differentiate Zach’s stage and magecraft from Zatanna’s, that would’ve been a worthwhile use of the character.  We get instead Zee berating her ne’er-do-well about his unprofessionalism, but only after the show’s finale, so we don’t actually get to see exactly what she’s going on about.

Beechen seems determined to make Zee as crusty as possible, as after her lecture goes unheard, she follows Zach to a club, where she lambasts the music (“It goes ‘Oonce-oonce-oonce-oonce,’ over and over again!  It’s like water torture!”) and the skuzzy patrons (including a pair of knock-off Butabi Brothers).  Her complaints seem particularly out of character considering how she’s been portrayed with a fondness for clubbing in the past.

But then, Beechen doesn’t have the firmest grasp of Zatanna’s character.  At one point she states that, like her cousin, her power doesn’t affect living things, which is a laugh in itself as living things have been involved in some of her most famous feats (and infamous—mind-whacking Dr. Light in Identity Crisis, anyone?).  The only reason Beechen drags that bit of misinformation into this issue is to prevent Zee from de-spelling her cousin too quickly.

Zatanna #13 – Review

By: Paul Dini (writer), Jamal Igle (penciller), Jon Sibal (inker), John Kalisz (colorist)

The Story: Beware, Zee—you’re coming dangerously close to becoming a crazy cat lady.

The Review: DC has quite a lot of iconic characters, many of whom have some kind of hold on our public consciousness even if you’ve never read a comic.  But the true test of a character’s popularity comes out when they have to carry their own title.  Many of the great DC superheroes couldn’t make it—just look at Aquaman’s on-off solo career.  What determines the longevity of these titles is often not just the star him/herself; it’s also the strength of the supporting cast.

Besides her namesake father and cousin, Zatanna has no closely associated characters of her own, so Dini’s had to build her cast from the ground up.  Despite the multiple appearances of stagehand Mikey and Detective Dale Colton, you still have little to no idea who these people are, or where their association with Zee comes from.  Colton has particularly been a mystery with his inexplicable affinity for handling occult matters.

Dini finally makes a thorough effort to clear out some cobwebs from Colton’s history, which smartly ties into his strict watch over Brother Night.  The truth about the detective’s origins certainly has a suitably sordid flavor, not the least of which involving his mother’s mad ravings and behavior.  But how these revelations will develop his character in the long-term, or flesh out his role in this series—those questions remain open-ended.

Speaking of Brother Night, Dini also takes some pains to pump up his street cred as Zatanna’s first ongoing villain.  Since their early encounters mostly involved Zee dismissing his various lackeys, and most of his power originated from a much bigger demonic source, it was easy to classify him as an overblown thug.  But the ease with which he sways his fellow prisoners (and others) to his bidding, and the dark magicks he uses to break out (ladder of human bones—sick) indicates he may be much more competent a foe for Zatanna this time around.

Action Comics #900 – Review

By: Too many to list—check out the review.

The Story: Lex Luthor is about to bring fun, love, and joy to all the people of the universe—the crazy part is I am being totally serious right now.

The Review: Say what you like about Superman: he can be overly naïve, overbearingly preachy, arguably antiquated, and a hopeless optimist.  But any character who can support a title through 900 issues is doing something right.  This unassailable milestone is evidence that Superman remains a deeply embedded icon in our culture.  To be rid of him, our society would have to drastically change—and not necessarily for the better, as this issue demonstrates.

Paul Cornell wisely downplays the Big Blue’s return to his original title to finish off his epic Lex Luthor storyline in grand fashion.  In attempting to break down Superman by forcing him to experience the depths of human emotion, Lex reveals his own under-appreciation for humanity.

Superman already knows more about being human than most of us ever will, while Lex’s quest for his own divinization constantly sets him apart from his fellow man.  He squanders his chance to bless the universe with true, eternal bliss and gain ultimate power by his need to irrevocably prove himself superior to Clark Kent, best man of Smallville, of all people.

The grandeur of this plot gets blemished by the constant distractions from the Reign of Doomsday storyline, which seems obviously forced on Cornell.  He tries to accommodate it as best he can by using it as Lex’s “bait” to get Superman to come to him, but even so it comes off a clumsy, ill-conceived, far more superficial plotline (a grim portent of the material we’ll be getting in upcoming issues) in comparison to Superman confronting a godlike Luthor in space.

Zatanna #11 – Review

By: Paul Dini (writer), Jamal Igle (penciller), Jon Sibal (inker), John Kalisz (colorist)

The Story: You know, puppets aren’t so scary when they feature hot women in fishnets.

The Review: One thing you may notice about television writers who get into comics is they tend to bring their teleplay habits with them, some of which don’t really suit the glossy page as much as the small screen.  Dini is one of those TV writers who has made the transition better than many of his colleagues, but even he can’t seem to escape completely from his past.

The most obvious leftover from his TV days is how much he relies on expository monologues—characters recalling events in flashback—to move the plot forward.  The past two issues featured Oscar Hampel blathering first about how he’d been wronged and then how he wronged others.  By the time Mikey gets done filling Zatanna in about she managed to track down her puppetized-boss in this issue, you get pretty tired of explanatory dialogue.  It’s an easy storytelling method, but it doesn’t do much to add tension or excitement to the story.

It doesn’t do much in the character department either.  With so much talk about the plot going on, none of the characters demonstrate much personality, even the usually engaging Zatanna.  Despite Mikey playing a big role in rescuing Zee, you still don’t know anything about her, which is a big problem for the title’s long-term livelihood.  If the supporting cast is weak, the burden of carrying interest falls solely on the lead—and if she falls flat, the whole story collapses.

Zatanna #9 – Review

By: Paul Dini (writer), Cliff Chiang (artist), John Kalisz (colorist), Adam Beechen (feature writer), Jamal Igle (feature penciller), Robin Riggs (feature inker)

The Story: What better way to treat the puppet that’s going to kill you than invite him to your home?  Also, Zatanna, junior sorceress, learns braces can really get you down.

The Review: Magic is an enormously potent sowing ground for stories.  Because it can do and be pretty much anything, it’s limited only by writer’s ingenuity—and by the writer’s skill.  Too often, especially in superhero comics, it gets used as story fodder for the characters, or a deus ex machina to explain away anything the writer can’t figure out more tangibly.  Because of magic’s elastic nature, writers have to create some physics for how it works in their stories.  When they don’t, magical stories easily become unconvincing, confusing, or just plain random.

Paul Dini may be starting to apply some rules to magic in Zatanna’s world—a good thing, especially for this particular character.  No two writers have ever portrayed her powers the same way, with the possible exception of her backwards-talk, and even that doesn’t get consistent treatment.  Despite all her many appearances throughout the years, you still don’t really have a handle on her abilities, and that’s partially because in the DCU, magic is so elastically defined by all the writers who have tried to use it that there’s no sense of order to it at all.

You can see this disorder every time Zatanna uses her powers in this issue, which always leaves you with a bunch of nagging questions.  For example, with her infamous “pots” spell, does she freeze time around the person?  Are they paralyzed?  If they’re paralyzed, how come the puppet can still talk?  Is it because he’s magicked already?  Can people think in this “deppots” state?  How long do they stay that way?  What are the spell’s limitations?  Sure, you can just accept it for what it is, but you’re sure to be bothered when it pops up again and works a different way.

Dean’s Drive-by Reviews

My pull list is way, way too long and every week there are a few titles that don’t get the full review treatment by me or my colleagues here at WCBR, but they still deserve a mention of some sort…

Thunderbolts #150 – Sheesh! Is Jeff Parker on a can’t miss string right now, or what?  This is my pick of the week in a pretty strong week of Bat-books.  I love the bastardized team-up between Avengers and Tbolts that leads to a duel of sorts in some alternate universe with talking frogs.  And….we get to see Captain Steve smash the All New Crossbones (with heat vision)!  How great is that?!?  Kev Walker’s art is just perfect for this title too.  My only criticism is that Marvel could spare me the Wikipedia entry on the history of the Tbolts and I always hate getting these old reprints in the back of my issues.  I never even bother to read them and hate paying the extra buck.  Grade: A-

Superior #2 – Mark Millar can do feel-good story telling!  This comic is really Big with superpowers.  This issue was just a blast as we watched this kid learn how to use his new powers.  Ever wonder precisely HOW Superman goes about flying or shooting lasers from his eyes?  Well, this at least shows you what it’s like the first time you try those tricks.  Can’t wait to see what happens when the space monkey comes back!  It goes without saying that Yu’s art was very good and I love the championship belt in his costume.  Grade: B+

Superman: War of the Supermen #1 – Review

By: Sterling Gates & James Robinson (writers), Jamal Igle (penciller), Jon Sibal (inker)

The Story: Superman is getting the tar beat out of him by Zod’s henchmen while an army of super-powered Kryptonians closes on Earth. Superman is going to try to talk Zod out of the attack. Problem is, the Kryptonians are right – Earth has been screwing with them.

What’s Good: I was expecting Eddy Barrows on art, so Igle surprised and disappointed me on the first page. But then, I kept reading. And his art grew on me, but fast. By pages six and seven, I was digging the opaque light suffusing the tense confrontation between Kara and her mom. By page eleven, the burning yellow color work was wowing me. By page fifteen, the disintegrating Kryptonian in panel two had sold me on Igle. Then came the double splash page. Boom! Wow. His work on texture and expressions (especially Jimmy’s) really had my appreciation, and then the tears in space sealed the deal. Excellent choice on art.

Gates and Robinson, on the plotting and dialogue, told a tight, tense, speeding story filled with war crimes, authentic moral struggles, secret plots, double-crosses, carefully laid traps and a whole lot of grief and sadness. And megalomaniacs. Did I mention megalomaniacs? Let me lay it out mathematically for you. [Zod] = [Awesome]. He’s creeping up my list of top DC villains. And you know what makes him good? He’s got a real beef. He’s justified. Hate him or love him, it doesn’t matter. He’s a man who’s going to protect his people, no matter what the cost. That’s the same kind of greatness that elevated Magneto back in the 80s.

Supergirl #35 – Capsule Review

By Sterling Gates (story), Jamal Igle (pencils), Keith Champagne (inks), Nei Ruffino (colors)

This book is somewhat of a mixed bag for me. I’m digging its new direction and how Sterling Gates is making it all fit more closely into Superman continuity, but the art seems aloof at times. More specifically, the facial expressions seem bloated and almost too exaggerated… and it’s grating. I mean, that cross-eyed Supergirl splash page just doesn’t look right. Other than that, I like the layout choices and the broad ink strokes used by inker Keith Champagne.

If you’ve been wanting an excuse to jump into Supergirl, this is the perfect issue. We get an updated “Secret Origin” (ala Green Lantern, but much, much shorter), plus a reveal involving her exposure to Kryptonite. It’s a great package that’s neatly tied into the current Superman mythos and reimaging by Geoff Johns.

Grade: B

– J. Montes